SW SOUTHWEST SE SOUTHEAST NE NORTHEAST MW MIDWEST W WEST CHIRON Group America Celebrates New Apprentices and Graduates ™ M ANUFACTURING N EWS Reaching Metalworking Manufacturing Decision Makers Every Month NE NORTHEAST Serving Since 2007 Serving Since 2005 Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin MW MIDWEST M ANUFACTURING N EWS M ANUFACTURING N EWS Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont & West Virginia WA MT OR ID WY NV CA UT CO SD NE KS OK IA IL MO IN KY NC TN AZ NM TX AR MS LA FL AL GA SC ND MN WI MI PA OH MD DE ME VT NH NY MA RI CT NJ WV VA W WEST M ANUFACTURING N EWS Serving Since 2012 Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington & Wyoming SE SW SOUTHWEST M ANUFACTURING N EWS Serving Since 1997 Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee & Virginia M ANUFACTURING N EWS Serving Since 1965 Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana & New Mexico SOUTHEAST For more information: 800-375-8488 or info@mfgnewsweb.com GROSS PUBLICATIONS, INC. 1133 Airline Drive, Suite 2100 • Grapevine, TX 76051 P.O. Box 847 • Grapevine, TX 76099-0847 817-488-8488 • Fax: 817-488-7813 E-Mail: info@mfgnewsweb.com John W. Gross, Publisher/CEO jgross@mfgnewsweb.com • Ext. 101 Ruth M. Gross, Editorial Director rgross@mfgnewsweb.com • Ext. 105 Brad J. Gross, Managing Editor/President bgross@mfgnewsweb.com • Ext. 109 Jody Estes, Associate Publisher/Vice President jestes@mfgnewsweb.com • Ext. 111 Jenny McDonald, Associate Editor/Vice President jmcdonald@mfgnewsweb.com • Ext. 108 Danelle Gross, Billing Coordinator dgross@mfgnewsweb.com • Ext. 107 Katy Bynum, Editorial Coordinator kbynum@mfgnewsweb.com • Ext. 104 Closing date for editorial: 45 days before issue date. Closing date for advertising: 30 days before issue date. Published 12 times annually. No charge for subscriptions to qualified recipients. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified recipients in the U.S.A. $56.00. Copyright © 2024 by Gross Publications, Inc. CHIRON Group America, Ameritech Die & Mold Inc, BLUM and PFAFF Molds USA have announced the success-ful signing of 13 new apprentices and the graduation of four apprentices from their joint Apprenticeship 2000 program. The celebration took place in Charlotte, NC, where families gathered to honor the achievements of these young talents. These companies are members of this program, which was established in 1995 to offer career opportunities to high school students in the Charlotte/Meck-lenburg area and surrounding counties. The initiative is all about connecting ed-ucation with real-world industry needs. The apprenticeship program cov-ers various fields, including machin-ists, tool and die makers, mechatronics technicians, moldmakers and electri-cians. By investing in these appren-tices, participating companies are not just filling critical skills gaps; they are shaping the future of the industry. As Robert Shook, Operations Man-ager at CHIRON America, explained: “By providing hands-on training in our facility, we are not just teaching students; we are shaping the next gen-eration of skilled professionals so they are ready to tackle today’s high-tech manufacturing challenges.” After completing the four-year train-ing program, graduates do not just walk away with skills—they secure a job with their company for life. Every single grad-uate finds a place within their company, ensuring they start their careers with sta-bility and a bright future ahead. Alex Bowles, who joined CHIRON America as an apprentice in 2013, is a Field Quality Engineer. Bowles said: “I am incredibly grateful for this program and highly recommend it to all stu-dents. I graduated with a degree in mechatronics engineering technology, earned money while learning, and years later, I am still thriving at CHI-RON in my dream job.” For more information about the Apprenticeship 2000 program, visit apprenticeship2000.com/zwp. For more information contact: CHIRON America, Inc. 10950 Withers Cove Park Drive Charlotte, NC 28278 704-587-9526 info.america@chiron-group.com www.chiron-group.com Walter Acquires PDQ Workholding Walter has acquired PDQ Work-holding LLC (PDQ), Columbia City, IN, specialist in workholding fixtures and tooling for various industries, including automotive and general engineering. With the acquisition of PDQ, Walter will strengthen its offering of workhold-ing products, primarily to customers based in the Americas, and allow earlier access to component projects to improve efficiency and develop future sales of cutting tools. Also, it supports the Walter strat-egy to grow in advanced machining solutions and lightweight materials in a key region. This includes increasing its exposure to aluminum machining applications and enhancing partner-ships with machine tool builders. Christoph Geigges, President of Walter, said: “When a customer begins designing a new product or component, they procure fixtures ahead of cutting tools. Therefore, PDQ has early access to new projects, creating a first-move ad-vantage on the sale of cutting tools.” Geigges continued: “PDQ is one of the leading custom workholding compa-nies in the U.S., focusing on advanced fixtures used by companies in the same targeted industries as Walter. We know the initial tool supplier to any project captures much of the replacement tool value in the first three years. Therefore, having PDQ within our portfolio of com-panies will significantly enhance our business opportunities in the Americas and strengthen our value proposition to customers. We are delighted to have PDQ within the Walter organization, and we look forward to working with them.” Founded in 2010, PDQ operates from two manufacturing sites, Colum-bia City, IN, and Slinger, WI, and has 107 employees. The company focuses on custom stationary, hydraulic and automated fixtures, alongside index-able tool bodies and carbide round tools. PDQ has a strong customer base, with 80% of sales in the United States, and the remainder split between Mex-ico, Canada, Argentina, Switzerland, Thailand and South Africa. For more information contact: Walter USA LLC 1510 S Batesville Rd, Greer, SC 29650 800-945-5554 www.walter-tools.com/us PDQ Workholding 1100-1 S Williams Drive Columbia City, IN 46725 260-244-2919 www.pdqwh.com www.mfgnewsweb.com 4 October 2024 • MIDWEST MANUFACTURING NEWS • www.mfgnewsweb.com
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